Power driven button press



July 3, 1934. E. w. ZEH

POWER DRIVEN BUTTON PRESS Filed July 27, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.Edmund [eh ATTORNEY.

July 3, 1934. E. w. ZEH- POWER DRIVEN BUTTON PRESS 'Filed July 27, 19322 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 5 I ONE CYCLE- 55 5' 3 Edmund Wis/ 1.

ATTORNEY.

Patented July 3, 1934 i UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE POWER DRIVEN BUTTONPRESS Edmund W. Zeh, Newark, N. J. Application July 27, 1932, Serial No.625,155 Claims. (01. 79-4) This invention concerns a power driven presssembling the old die, the other die taking the for making buttons. placeof the old die with the ring assembled on top In the prior art, acertain type of manually or thereof. foot operated press was used tomanufacture but- Another object of this invention provides for 5 tonscovered with celluloid, cloth or the like, butautomatic ejection of thefinished button part 69 tons for instance, which are commonly calledafter the second actuation of the punch,at the tablet or campaignbuttons; that press is also end of one cycle of operations. suited forinserting fillers intobutton shanks, Still another important object ofthis invention cloth covered fillers for instance. has been to co-relatethe movement of the punch,

The underlying object of this invention is to of the dies and theejecting into an efiicient op- 6 provide a power driven press which isadapted crating cycle, providing intermediary periods for to perform thework of such a press. the insertion of the shell and print and of theOther objects of these improvements relate to collet into the dies,respectively. an increase in production in connection with a Anotherobject of this invention relatesto the practical and rugged press, andto a relief of arrangement of the stack of shells and prints the strainon the operator, the motor power and of the stack of collets in relationto the dies performing that part of the work of making butin such amanner, that they can most readily be tons, which heretofore subjectedthe operator to inserted by the operator. an actual, physical exertion.Additional objects provide means for the ready Although there have beenmany efforts to faciladjustment of the dies in exact alignment with Z5itate the button making work, the old type foot the punch, and forsteady movement of the dies press has been in general use until thepresent dewhile they are shifted in a safe manner by which velopmentswere made. That oldtype press comthe operator is not disturbed. prised afoot actuated punch and a stationary These and other objects of thisinvention will die. The punch was actuated, i. e., brought down be morereadily understood from the following and raised-twice during theoperation of makdescription and the accompanying drawings in ing onebutton. During the first actuation the which: print, celluloid tabletfor instance, was extended Fig. 1 shows a plan View of the press withoutover the top and sides of the shell, (for instance, the tools. a meta dsc fla d down a o its pe p y.) Fig. 2 shows'a corresponding view of thepress the shell with the print extending over its top and in which theswinging die block is in the altersides being pushed into the punch andretained nate position.

therein during the upward stroke. Figs. 3, 4 and5 show a detail of thebed of the A suitable feeding ring was then placed on top press,illustrating the action of the ejecting of the die,said ring and saiddie being frequently mechanism.

referred to as thimble and nest,the third part Figs. 6 and 7 showcross-sections of the punch of the button, a collet, was placed on topof the and first die in operative relationship, at the bedie and duringthe second actuation of the punch ginning and at the end of the downwardstroke the flare of the shell and the rim of the print exrespectively,

to tended thereover were gathered in, the collet Figs. 8 and 9 show, incorresponding views, the

being pressed over said gathered-in fiare and expunch and the seconddie. tending thereover as a seam. The ring, together Fig. 10 again showsthe tools of Figs. 8 and 9 with the assembled shell, print and collet ofthe and illustrates the ejection of the finished butbutton containedtherein, was removed from the ton part. die, after the second actuationof the punch, and Fig. 11 shows a side elevation of the press, at thefinished button part was removed from the the point of operationillustrated by Fig. 2; the rin A ua n f a pre of thi kind by power toolsare aligned in accordance with Fig. 6. was not practical because theheight of the die Fig. 12,shows, diagrammatically, the strokes was h nby placin the rin n top thereof of the punch at A, in relation to theshifting of 0 during alternate actuations of the punch. the die block atB.

In this invention two dies are used with one Similar numerals refer tosimilar parts punch, said dies being alternately and autothroughout thevarious views. matically shifted into alignment with the punch, Theframe 15 of the press follows the condu i the pp eXteIlt 0f the upw dand dOWIlventional design, suitable brackets extending ward strokes ofthe punch, one of said dies re- J from the upright 16 and base 17thereof, in or- 2 der to support the gearing which will be described inthe following:-

A motor 18 is mounted upon the side of the upright 16 and it drives theworm wheel 21 by means of a worm 19 mounted upon its shaft 20. Said wormwheel corresponds to the fly wheel of the ordinary power press.Therefore it idles upon the main shaft 22 as long as the press is not inactionand it engages upon said shaft in accordance with the actuation ofclutch 23 by means of a treadle (not shown) which is operativelyconnected thereto by rod 24. The details of this clutch mechanism do nothave to be described; it serves, as known to those acquainted with thisart, to drive the main shaft 22 of the press for one or more successivecycles comprising one downward and one upward stroke, as long as it isactuated. An eccentric 25 at the front end of main shaft 22 is connectedby a connecting rod 26 to the reciprocating ram 27, which slides inbearing 28 and upon which is mounted, at the lower end, the punch III.Near the rear end of main shaft 22 is mounted the helical gear 29 which,in the exemplified arrangement of these drawings, is connected by meansof helical gear 30 at a gear ratio of 1:2 to the vertical shaft 31.

The shaft 31 carries at its lower end a cam 32, which is shown in Figs.1 and 2 in two positions displaced from each other at a straight angle.In accordance with the design of this particular press, the positions ofFigs. 1 and 2 correspond to oneangular position of the main shaft 22,said shaft passing through one revolution in order to bring the cam fromthe position of Fig. l to that of the position of Fig. 2 and vice versa.The cam 32 may be analyzed as comprising four sectors 33, 34, 35 and 36,each extending over about 90, the roller face of the first two sectorsbeing substantially circular but of different diameters, whereas thefaces of sectors 35 and 36 provide a rise and a drop connecting saidcircular faces. The cam is laid out in substantially such a manner thatthe rollers 37 and 38, which rollingly contact with opposite sides ofthe cam, are operatively engaged thereupon at all times. The rollers 37and. 38 are mounted on a slide 39 which is slidably supported by thebase 17 of the pressand to which reciprocating movement is imparted bycam 32.

A rack 40 is similarly slidably arranged upon the base 17 of the pressnear the front thereof it meshes with the segment 41, which forms partof die block 42.

The die block 42 is fulcrumed upon a vertical arbor 43. The die block 42is provided with two vertical bearings 44 and .45, which respectivelyreceive the dies I and II. From the die block 42 extends a lug 46, whichis slidably engaged underneath a lug 47 extending from a block 48, whilethe die block passes from the position of Fig. 1 to the position of Fig.2 and vice versa. The ledge 47 serves more particularly to preventvertical movement of the block 42 during ejection of the product of thepress, which will be explained below. Adjustable stops 49 and 50 extend,up from the bed 17 of the press. The dies I and II are in registeringalignment with the ram 27 and the punch III mounted therein, when lug 46abuts upon stops 49 and 50 respectively.

The shifting motion ofthe die blockis transmitted from the slide 39 tothe rack and segment 40, 41, by means of a rod 51 which is attached at52 to rack 40 and which is slidably disposed in a lug 53 laterallyextending from slide 39. Pairs of nuts 54 and 55 are lockably adjustablyarranged upon threaded parts of rod 51 and the lug 53 is longitudinallyiioatably engaged upon rod 51 between compression springs 56 and 57, theouter ends of which are retained by the sets of lock nuts 54 and 55respectively.

The stroke imparted to slide 39 by cam 32 exceeds the length of thestroke to which rack 40 is limited by stops 49 and 56, so that spring 57is compressed at the end of the frontward stroke of slide 39 whichbrings die I into an operative position, whereas spring 56 is compressedupon the rearward stroke of slide 39 which brings die II into alignmentwith punch III. In other words the lug 46 is brought into abutment uponstop 49 or 50 before the slide 39 reaches its extreme positions, so thatthe tensions of the springs firmly hold the dies in their respectivepositions of alignment, and so that play is provided for adjusting stops49 and 50 in order to take care of any wear and tear in the intermediarygearing. It thus becomes evidentthat the cam roller slide connectionbetween the shaft 31 and the lug 53-may be replaced by a crank motionand, of course, the rack gearing at the die block may be replaced by apitman.

The punch III comprises a punch proper 61 upon which, in accordance withthe prior art, a punch sleeve 62 is slidably arranged. A latch 63 ishinged upon the punch in accordance with the old art; the latch 63engages in a groove 64 in the punch sleeve 62 during the first part ofthe punch operation as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, whereas the latch 63 isthrown out of engagement with groove 64 during the second part of theoperation by a lip 66 protruding from the die sleeve 67. The first die Ialso has a sleeve 68 which, in the same manner as sleeve 67, is normallypushed up by compression spring 69. A pin 70 extends in both instancesfrom the sleeves 67 and 68 into feather key ways 71 inthe respective diestems 72 and 73.

The front part of the die block, as well as the rack and gear segmentare covered by a stationary table board 74, whichis mounted upon thepress (bracket 88). Upon the right side of said board are stacked up theshells and prints 75 and 76 as indicated by the super imposed dot-dashlines in Fig. 2.

The operator places the print and shell onto the die I as indicated inFig. 6. The die stem 73 is rounded off on the top'corresponding to theultimate convexityof the button top, and a registering concavity 77 isprovided at the bottom of the punch 61. During the downward stroke ofthe punch, the shell and print are pushed into the punch sleeve 62, asindicated in Fig. '7, so that said shell and print remain in the punchsleeve 62 during the upward stroke of the punch. When the punch III hasperformed half of said upward stroke, and clears the die I, the rollers37 and 38 rise or drop from face 34 to face 33 and from face 33 to face34 of the cam, respectively, during the balance of said upward strokeand during the first half of the next downward stroke. The punch III hasnow been brought into alignment with die II, onto which the operator hadin the meantime fed a collet 78 from a stack of such collets on the leftside of the tableboard 74. The collet'78 rests on the flat top 79 ofplunger 80, the stem 81 of which extends through the die stem 72 andprotrudes from the bottom of the die block 42. During the downwardstroke of the punch the flared rims of the shell and print aregatheredin by a taper 82 at the entrance of the sleeve 67 in the mannerindicated in Fig. 9 and, as the punch further descends, the collet 78 issealed around the rims of the print and shell.

It is seen from the drawings that, as compared with the old art, thesealing of the collet may be performed in a better manner since the faceof top '79 may be suitably shaped for such operation or may simplyremain fiat as indicated in the drawings, whereas the die stem 73 of dieI is convex to fit the shell and print.

A thread 83 is provided upon the die stem 72 upon which is engaged anadjusting nut 84. While die I is retained at a fixed height above thedie block, the height of die II may be adjusted in relation to theheight of die I, as circumstances may require, by a rotation of nut 84in abutment with the hub of the vertical bearing 45.

After the punch has again moved through half of the following upwardstroke,the punch III now being clear of die I1',the die block 42 isswung to the left, similar to the manner in which it was swung to theright before.

While the die II now swings to the left, the stem 81 protruding from thebottom thereof engages upon the inclined face, at the end of switchlever 85, riding up thereon as indicated in Fig. 3. This upward movementof plunger ejects the finished button from die II, while the ledge 4''!is slidably engaged upon lug 46 suitably holding the die block down.During further movement of the die block 42 to the left, the stem 81drops off switch lever 85 into groove 86 in bed 17, and remains in saidgroove while the punch III and die I perform the first operation on thenext button. When the die block moves from its position of Fig. 2 duringthat part of the operation, into that of Fig. 1, the stem 81 again movesto the right in groove 86. But in this instance it does not ride overthe top of switch lever 85 but pushes it aside in the manner shown inFig. 5, a suitable spring pressed means 87 pushing the switch lever backinto the positions of Figs. 3 and 4 after stem 81 has passed all the wayto the right of groove 86, in which position punch III again registerswith die II.

The shifting of the die block during the second half of the upward andthe first half of the downward strokes of the punch provides particularsafety for the feeding operation by the operator and at the same timeallows this shifting to be brought about slowly.

In Fig. 12 I illustrate the relationship between the strokes of thepunch, at A, and the movements of the die blocks, at B, during one cycleof operation. In Diagram A, the letter D indicates the lowest level ofthe stroke of the punch and U the top level thereof. The lower DiagramB, shows the movement of the die block from the left L (bottom level ofthe diagram) to the right R (top level of the diagram). The shifting isdemarked S. The diagram shows the shifting to extend substantiallythrough the half stroke proceeding and succeeding the top centerposition of the punch.

Although I have shown and described one form of embodiment of myinvention in detail, yet I do not wish to be limited thereby, except asthe state of the art and the appended claims may require, for it isobvious that various modifications and changes may be made in the formof embodiment of my invention, without departing from the spirit andscope thereof.

What I claim is:-

1. In a button press, a reciprocating punch, a pair of dies, a blockupon which said dies are mounted, a pivot by means of which said blockis fulcrumed upon said press said pivot being located to the front ofsaid punch and dies, gearing reciprocating said block between positionsof respective alignment of said dies with said punch, and a boardmounted on said press and extending over said pivot and said blocksubstantially up to said dies so that the button may be delivered fromsaid stationary board to said dies in their various positions and viceversa.

2. In a button press, a reciprocating punch, a pair of dies, a blockupon which said dies are mounted and fulcrumed upon said press, meansreciprocating said block between positions of respective alignment ofsaid dies with said punch, an ejector plunger in one of said dies, astem comprised in said plunger and downwardly extending from said dieand through said'block, a mechanism on said press engaging upon the saidstem during the reciprocating strokes of said block, and means on saidmechanism temporarily lifting said plunger on alternate strokes, only,of said block.

3. In a button press, a reciprocating punch, a pair of dies, a blockupon which said dies are mounted and fulcrumed upon said press, meansreciprocating said block between positions of respective alignment ofsaid dies with said punch, an ejector plunger in one of said dies, astem comprised in said plunger and downwardly extending from said dieand through said block, and a lever swingably mounted on said press, thefree end of said lever engaging upon the protruding end of said stem andtemporarily lifting said plunger when said block is reciprocated in onedirection, but swung by said stem out of the path thereof, when saidblock is reciprocated in the other direction.

4. A button press, comprising a punch, a reciprocating die block, a pairof dies mounted on said block, means limiting the reciprocations of saiddie block between positions of alternate alignment of said dies withsaid punch, a mechanism reciprocating said punch, means reciprocated bysaid mechanism, and elastic means operatively connecting saidreciprocated means and said block and tending to reciprocate said blockbeyond the range of said limiting means.

5. In a button press, a reciprocating punch, a pair of stops mounted onsaid press, a pair of dies, a block upon which said dies are mounted,and elastic means operatively connected with said punch and alternatelypressing said block against one or the other of said stops, said diesbeing respectively aligned with said punch at alternate positions ofsaid block.

EDMUND W. ZEH.

